ElCumanes

The hardwood floor of the Oval Office is resurfaced as the West Wing of the White House in Washington undergoes renovations while President Donald Trump is spending time at his golf resort in New Jersey Friday Aug. 11 2017. (AP

Geopolitical concerns contributed to the continued strength among treasuries amid an ongoing escalation in tensions between the US and North Korea.

Investors have been jittery about North Korea since Tuesday when Trump said any threats from Pyongyang would be "met with fire and fury like the world has never seen".

The sell-off is likely to extend into the European session, with financial spread-better CMC Markets expecting Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 to open down about 0.7% each and Britain's FTSE 100 to start 0.55% lower.

The CBOE Volatility Index, a barometer of expected near-term stock market volatility, closed at its highest since the election.

Overseas markets were also lower Wednesday.

The dollar also slipped 0.26 percent lower against the yen to 110.01 yen.

"When investors are optimistic to the extreme, it means that most of their money is already in the market and there's no more money coming in", Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co in Sarasota, Florida. The Korean won also continued to skid, down 0.45% to 1,147.2, falling below its 200-day moving average for the first time in a month.

Although Japan could be in the front line of any clash with North Korea, the yen is benefitting because Japan is the world's biggest creditor nation and Japanese investors tend to repatriate funds in times of stress, attracting other flows.

Gold prices were up almost 1% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-gains-about-1-as-us-north-korea-tensions-grow-2017-08-09) to $1,273.30 an ounce.

On the currency front, the USA dollar is trading at 108.82 yen compared to the 109.20 yen it fetched at the close of NY trading on Thursday.

The recent resilience of data on the United States economy has not dampened the latest climb, despite depressing prices earlier in the week as reports returned high employment figures ahead of further USA inflation information this week.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 1.06 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.17 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell less than a point to 2,474, making up much of the ground it lost earlier.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor, for instance, resulted in a 3.8 percent drop in the S&P 500 on December 7, 1941.

Australian shares fell to near three-week lows in a broad-based selloff.

Macy's shares closed down 10.2 percent and Kohl's fell nearly 6 percent as the companies continued to report a drop in quarterly same-store sales, stoking concerns that their turnarounds may still be a long way off.

A report released by the Labor Department showed a modest uptick in consumer prices in the United States in the month of July.

Bond prices came under pressure early in the session and remained stuck in the red throughout the day.

Recommended News

TheStreet raised shares of San Juan Basin Royalty Trust from a "c" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 31st. As of the end of the quarter Hilton Capital Management, LLC had bought a total of 156,325 shares growing its stake by 11.1%.

While the German DAX Index has edged down by 0.1%, the French CAC 40 Index and the UK's FTSE 100 Index are both down by 1%. In commodities, Crude failed to hold the 50 per barrel level, falling almost 2% topping at $50.22 earlier in the session.

Manchester United are the only side to lose their first Premier League game of a season and still go on to win the title. Chelsea will begin their 2017/18 campaign at home to Burnley on Saturday with just 14 experienced players available.

The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 5,487 ($71.45) per share, for a total transaction of £493,830 ($643,091.55). J P Morgan Chase & Co restated an "overweight" rating on shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c.in a report on Wednesday.

Former Holland coach Frank de Boer will manage Crystal Palace while Mauricio Pellegrino will spearhead Southampton's challenge. Diego Costa is sure to leave the Premier League ...but if at the end he stays, there is no telling what could happen.

Zacks Investment Research downgraded Amarin Corporation PLC from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 8th. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Amarin Corporation PLC by 662.8% in the fourth quarter.

Nitish, however, swore-in as the Bihar Chief Minister the very next day with Sushil Modi as his Deputy Chief Minister. Till now, he used to sit in the front benches, sharing the space with other top leaders of other parties.

Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 3.36% of Uni-Pixel worth $766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Roth Capital downgraded shares of Uni-Pixel from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 12th.

North Korea responded by detailing a plan to fire ballistic missiles toward the USA territory of Guam, home to US military bases. Trump tweeted: "Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely".

It was indeed a splendid and one-sided first half for the visitors, who simply outplayed the 10-man reigning champions. These sides last met at Stamford Bridge last August, with Chelsea running out comfortable 3-0 winners.

Follow Us!

Join The Conversation

We are pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news.
Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper.
Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

Burnley stun Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
Sam Vokes' effort snuck past Thibaut Courtois, before Ward doubled their advantage with a fierce strike inside the area. Everybody's having fun though, which is always nice to see and they even got to 30 passes on the last one shown.